


Chestnuts

by FrozenHearts



Category: Penny Dreadful (TV)
Genre: Character Study, F/M, First Meetings, Food, Introspection, Meet-Cute, Proteus was a sweetheart, Sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-23 01:10:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7460727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Proteus offers Miss Brona a chestnut</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chestnuts

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been watching Penny Dreadful lately and I just thought Proteus was so sweet when talking with Brona, and this came about.
> 
> Enjoy!

Proteus knew that he had a life before Victor Frankenstein brought him back to life. He hadn't  known such a feat to be possible until Victor had done the deed.

He could remember small things. He remembered dogs, and hats and how to smile politely at the children playing in the street. He could remember the ropes that hung from the masts of a ship, how to identify the different parts of the boats and what they did.

He could remember someone. A woman, named Dory. He knows she's important to his jogged memory, but he assumes this Dory is no longer quite as important to him as, say, learning to read or how to chew and swallow properly.

First it was bread, but Victor had shown him the spices of India, yellow and red and green powders that tickled his nose and made him want to sneeze. Then he was introduced to cured meats and smoked ribs that left his mouth slightly dry but his stomach full.

"Here," Victor handed him a small paper bag, "these are chestnuts."

"Chestnuts," Protrus echoed with a nod, earning a proud smile from the scientist. Reaching in, Victor pulled one out, displaying it for him to admire.

The nut was a dark brown, and he could smell salt and smoke as Victor carefully held it under his nose. Proteus decided that he liked the smell, he liked how it lingered in the air.

Victor took the chestnut and popped it in his mouth, slowly chewing. He then ran his fingers down his throat- the signal for swallowing the food once he chewed.

Proteus had just taken the bag from Victor when the man stopped suddenly, nodding his head in greeting to someone else. 

"Mr. Frankenstein, this is my friend, Brona Croft," the other man said. His accent was different than Victor's, with a more rugged look to match.

But his companion was something else. Her skin was pale, with dark pink lips and a slight twinkle in her eyes. Her face was framed with an abundance of honey brown curls, and she gave him a polite nod in return.

"Hello," she said, her accent as beautiful as it was odd.

Proteus suddenly remembered what manners Victor had taught him, nodding his head in earnest as he replied, "Nice to meet you, my name is Proteus."

Brona smiled at that, her tongue poking out slightly between her pearly white teeth. Victor was still speaking with Brona's friend. What they spoke of he didn't know nor did he care.

It wasn't until Victor said they had to go home did he do it. Slowly, almost as if he were scared, he held out the thin brown paper bag.

Brona raised an eyebrow at him.

"Chestnut?"

Brona laughed, a hearty guffaw that Proteus decided was his new favorite sound. Much better than the bark of a dog, anyway.

Brona seemed unsure, but she reached into the bag with sure hands, her smile trained on him as she withdrew a few pieces of her own.

"Thank you," she said, tossing a chestnut into her mouth, "how very kind."

Kind. Proteus knew from the way she said it that it was a good word. A nice word. He'd ask Victor to teach him the word later.

Many things in Proteus's new chance at life were important, and as Brona gave him a beaming smile and an enthusiastic wave goodbye, he decided that she was one of those important things.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to request anything, message me on Tumblr @coloringpencils


End file.
